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…Accuse Army, Police of sabotaging democracy
Governor Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa state has called for the cancellation of the Bayelsa state governorship election alleging that there were rampant incidents of thuggery, diversion and hijacking of electoral materials.
Dickson who voted earlier at Oruware, Polling Unit 005, Toru Orua in Sagbama local government area called for outright cancellation of the elections in Nembe local government area where he alleged that over 20 PDP loyalists were brutally killed during an aborted PDP campaign rally by armed militia men linked to the All Progressive Congress (APC) in the state.
He noted that no sane society would conduct an election under such an atmosphere of gloom, fear and tension which he said was what the APC wanted to instil in the electorate.
“I call on the Chairman of INEC to issue an order cancelling the process in all the wards, in all the local government areas affected, in all the wards and units, where materials have been stolen or hijacked, where officials have been kidnapped and held hostage to enable the APC cook up false figures”, Dickson said.
The governor maintained that by all standards, the APC was an unpopular party in Bayelsa state, describing what is happening in the state as part of a well-orchestrated plan by the APC-led Federal Government to foist a one party system on the country against the popular wishes of the people.
According to the governor, rogue elements in the Nigerian Army connived with the APC thugs to perpetrate electoral fraud and insecurity in some parts of Southern Ijaw, Ekeremor and Ogbia and even the state capital, Yenagoa.
Governor Dickson stressed that what is going on in Bayelsa is a charade and not an election.
He said; “Some of the PDP supporters who were attacked during the campaign in Nembe are still fighting to live on their hospital beds. It would have been expected that the APC-led federal government would live up to its primary responsibility of protecting lives and properties of Nigerians.
“Materials meant for Eniwari community, Opuama ward, most locations in Southern Ijaw as we earlier predicted were hijacked.
“As everyone knows, the APC has no foothold in Bayelsa to win an election but they have an armed militia, surveillance contractors who kill and maim for the APC.
“They also have the Nigerian Army and rogue elements of the Police Force working in concert with them to deny the citizens of these communities their right to vote.
“So as we are speaking, in our country, in this day and age, gun-wielding militiamen with the aid of security forces have overrun the election officials and most of the electoral officials in Southern Ijaw. These officials as we speak have been kidnapped and held hostage. This has been what we’ve been managing since 2015, with APC at the centre. They do not care about the lives and dignity of our people. Sadly, the APC at the centre is rather too desperately fixated on making Nigeria a one-party state, to care.”
“So as we are speaking, in our country, in this day and age, gun-wielding militiamen with the aid of security forces have overrun the election officials and most of the electoral officials in Southern Ijaw. These officials as we speak have been kidnapped and held hostage. This has been what we’ve been managing since 2015, with APC at the centre. They do not care about the lives and dignity of our people. Sadly, the APC at the centre is rather too desperately fixated on making Nigeria a one-party state, to care.”
He called on the president to wake up to his responsibilities and call to order the security forces, particularly, the Nigerian Army, to stop desecrating democratic governance and ridiculing the image of the country.
Dickson also called on the Inspector General of Police to be true to his professional calling and direct the DIG and all the security operatives to protect the people of Bayelsa.
“I do not want to be pushed to call on my people to defend and protect themselves”, he warned.
